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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Keep the comments rolling in, Nation - the only way we can secure a more perfect future for our children and their children is to imagine that Alberta today, demand it of our leaders, and articulate it well enough that they can make it a reality.

Today and for the next few days, I want to hear your vision for Alberta's economic future. Now, we're not talking about spending, or savings, or the Heritage Fund today. Neither are we talking about tax policy. Rather, I want to hear about the REAL economy in Alberta. Businesses that Martha and Henry set up, and then go public with - or pass on to their kids.

Among the sectors that could be touched on:

Energy (traditional and alternative)

Mining

Forestry

Tourism

Agriculture

Bio-tech

Technology

Manufacturing

Service

... and many more...

In our lifetimes, the traditional stockpile of petroleum is likely going to become less and less of an economic driver, due to reduced supply or technological advances leading to a reduced demand. How are we going to replace this gigantic piece of Alberta's economic pie?

So, I put it to you, Nation: How would YOU set up Alberta's economy of the future?

If you want to nationalize industry rather than leaving it up to the market, that's your choice... I'll warn you now, though, that I don't think Martha and Henry will go for it...

And thinking outside the box is okay, too... remember, at some point 60 years ago, someone looked at a bald patch of desert and had the words "Las Vegas" pop into his head...

2 comments:

I think that small businesses are the businesses that we should support and encourage in our province.

Big businesses are doing just fine. They edge out smaller ones by (mis)treating their employees/customers as numbers.

I think Alberta should encourage refineries in-province, so we don't have to waste money shipping oil out-of-province then re-importing it.

A diverse industrial base is probably best (tech, manufacturing, mining, forestry, energy) and the services will grow to support that.

Rather than trying to maintain our current piece of the economic pie, having a fully diverse base in-province could ensure that if things change drastically, our economy could be self-sufficient.

Nationalizing oil and gas -- well, it's a resource owned by the people, so it's natural state is to nationalized... if we want to contract people to extract it for us, or to refine it for us... the resource should still belong to the province.

Something I'd like to see, as a small business owner myself, is some sort of support for small business in terms of helping them navigate the regulatory and taxation regime in their industry for the first few years - being moderately successful ended up COSTING me money, when I had to hire an acocuntant to tell me how much money to send where, whether to file a seperate return for the business or lump it all in under my own tax return as the sole proprietor... it would sure help those of us with good ideas but without Business Administration backgrounds.

Who Is The Enlightened Savage?

The Enlightened Savage (Joey Oberhoffner) is a 40 year-old, life-long Albertan with one foot in each of the private (small business owner) and public (provincial public service) sectors. He is a self-confessed political junkie/policy wonk, with a sometimes disturbing affinity for Montreal Smoked Meat, gadgets, and well-written television.

Joey began blogging in late 2006 under the nom de plume of "The Enlightened Savage", and rapidly became well-known as an even-handed analyst of municipal and provincial political issues. He offered in-studio commentary on CBC Radio One for Municipal Election Night 2007, did analysis for the 2010 Municipal Election and the 2011 Federal Election, and appeared in-studio on CityTV for analysis of the results on Provincial Election Night 2008.

Joey also writes at and is a founding contributor for CalgaryPolitics.com.

Hate-mail, love letters, and offers of support for his campaign to change politics for the better can be sent to amishbuggyracing (at) gmail (dot) com.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author himself, and are not meant in any way to reflect the opinions of any organization for which he either works or volunteers.

Perfecting Alberta

Joey O's Policy Points

"This guy is obviously a raging leftist - how can he possibly call himself a conservative?"

THIS is how. Because the public policies I advocate for are conservative - and I don't have to support your chosen right-wing politician or pet issue to be allowed to use the name "conservative".

- Fixed Provincial Election Dates (I'm leaning towards the second Monday of May, every 4 years. Would VERY rarely come into contact with a late Easter, otherwise it's smooth sailing...)

- Full Disclosure of Donors and their Contribution amounts at all levels of elected office, including internal party races, BEFORE the votes are cast - we deserve to know who's funding the war chests of our would-be leaders. And none of this "numbered corporation" crap either.

- A fully funded and independent Auditor General

- Economic diversification. Even a five-year old knows it's a bad idea to carry all your eggs in one basket.

- Making Alberta's Oilsands the standard bearer for environmental sensitivity while also making them the most sought-after business opportunity for large and mid-size operators in North America.

- Getting our energy products to market and getting a global price for them by working with our neighbours, rather than throwing tantrums and accomplishing nothing.

- Promotion of eco-tourism as a way to showcase the unique character of Alberta's landscape and people and boosting local economies.

- Capping government program spending increases from year to year at the rate of inflation plus population growth.

- Making the MLA "Tax-Free Allowance" just that - an allowance. Anything that isn't spent on expenses related to their work (e.g. rent in Edmonton, vehicular or transportation costs, hospitality) should be returned to the provincial treasury, or taxed as income.

- More recorded votes and fewer in camera sessions at all levels of government. The work of our governments should be public and indexable unless there is a clear reason why it shouldn't be.